Pastor’s Desk

ST. VINCENT de PAUL PARISH – CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE – 2023 Ā Saturday, Dec. 23rd – 4th Sunday of Advent – 5 pm and 7 pmĀ  (Spanish) Sunday, Dec. 24th – 7:30 am, 9 am, 10:30 am, and 12 noon (Spanish) Christmas Carols – 9:30 pm Monday, Dec. 25 – Christmas Day – 7:30 am, 9 am, […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ December 3, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Itā€™s proverbial that time moves quickly. This Advent, which begins on Sunday, it will be even more apparent than usual, as Christmas will fall on a Monday. That means that the Fourth Sunday of Advent will fall on Christmas Eve, and the 4th Week of Advent will be one day only. (Advent […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ November 26, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Many of you know that I have been a bit ā€œunder the weatherā€ over the past week. Fr. Stuart and Msgr. Whelton have generously covered the parish Masses until I am more fully recovered from the nasty super-cold that has been going around. Like most of us, I can usually power through […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ November 19, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Once again we approach the Thanksgiving holidays with much to be thankful for, and still more to pray for and seek. This week, the Pastorā€™s Desk will be a bit of an ā€œomnium gatherum,ā€ which is fake Latin for a ā€œgrab-bag,ā€ much like the little junk drawer in every kitchen that has […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ November 5, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, I would like to share some recent developments regarding SVHS, our parish high school. The following applies only to our high school, not our elementary school. Our parish has had a school, in one form or another, since the late 1850’s, and has been graduating high school students at least since 1918. […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ October 22, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Iā€™d like to mention briefly a few parish matters that I hope will be of some interest, if not good news. 1)Ā  The October Mass Count will continue on Sundays through this month. Soon thereafter, average figures will be provided as to how many people attended each one of our October Sunday […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ October 15, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, This weekend I am happy to announce that our former Parochial Vicar, Fr. Andrew Pacheco, will be covering the Saturday 7:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish and the Sunday 7:30 a.m. Mass in English. At the same time, Fr. Stuart will be covering for Fr. Pacheco in Fort Bragg. This will provide each […]

Pastor’s Desk

Dear Fellow Parishioners, October Mass Count:Ā Ā  As I mentioned at some Masses last weekend, this is the month for the annual October Mass Count. The purpose is to count the number of regular attendees at Sunday Masses all over the United States. October was selected as a typical, normal month: school is in session, there […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ September 24, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, We have now entered into the season of Autumn, from the Latin word, ā€œautumnus,ā€ but whose deeper roots are obscure ā€“ possibly Etruscan. While in the U.S. we tend to use ā€œAutumnā€ and ā€œFallā€ interchangeably, the name ā€œFallā€ is generally not used outside of North America. Depending on geography and culture, real-life […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ September 10, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, As I walked to my car after a school meeting at about 8:30 pm last Wednesday, I could feel the slight chill of Fall approaching, my favorite season of the year. The feasts of the Church reflect the bittersweet impending Fall with a mix of liturgical memorials: The Triumph of the Cross […]